Revering Truth
Reverence for the truth seems at an all-time low. Some say we live in a “post-truth world.” It’s bad enough that (as the fictional character Gregory House famously claimed) “everybody lies.” But what’s worse is that there’s so little regard for truth. There’s little respect for its importance. And there’s little honoring of its crucial value to human wellbeing.
Reverence itself seems a lost value. (See: Sound Character Requires Reverence and Irreverent Character Seems The New Normal.) But the capacity for reverence is crucial to character. To embrace important values and incorporate them into our character, we have to first hold them in high esteem. That’s what reverence is all about. And if we don’t hold up truthfulness as an esteem-worthy value, we’re not likely to incorporate respect for it into our character.
The Lies People Tell
You can find many articles on the blog on lying and the reasons people lie. And you can also find many articles on the difference between lying and denial. Those articles are there to make a very important point: lying harms. And the lies we tell ourselves are, perhaps, the most damaging. Sadly, many mental health professionals confuse “denial” with lying. Denial is actually a powerful and sometimes necessary unconscious mechanism. Generally, it’s a good thing. And we don’t choose it. It kicks in automatically to protect us from unbearable pain. Lying to ourselves is something else. It’s conscious and deliberate, although it can become a habit, “automatic.” But it’s always harmful, especially to the health of our character.
Reverence for the truth will help you grow in many positive ways. And, as sages throughout the ages have said, it can truly set you free. Free from what? Free from the horrendous effects of dishonesty and deception. Revere and seek only truth and you enter a new realm – a realm of unparalleled fulfillment.
I discuss reverence for the truth and its importance in depth in Character Disturbance and Essentials for the Journey. And I discuss the deception tactics manipulators use to expoit and abuse in In Sheep’s Clothing.
Character Matters Live!
I’ll be taking a brief hiatus from posting and podcasting. But Character Matters will return the third Wednesday in November and will be livestreamed on my YouTube channel so folks can participate. And it will be livestreamed on the first and third Wednesday of every month thereafter at 12 noon Central Time (10 am Pacific, 11 am Mountain, & 1 pm Eastern).
Thank you George for clarify the difference between denial and lying to one’s self . When I was raised in an abusive home I’m thankful as a child I could live in denial. I had no other way to not despair of life. My parents on the other hand were so accustomed to lying to themselves that they blamed others for their behavior. They caused a lot of harm.
Your books and videos help me so much—and most recently on an almost daily basis—that I feel I could write a short book on all I’m learning about myself that tremendously helps me while living with a disturbed character. I am so grateful!
Thank you!